Rabiches plead innocent in marijuana-cultivation case

Staff Report

CORTLAND — A Johnston Township couple charged after discovery of a marijuana-cultivation operation will wait to find out when they’ll appear in court again.

Jesse, 34, and Erin Rabich, 36, were arraigned Monday morning in Trumbull County Central District Court. Both are charged with one count of cultivation of marijuana and one count of endangering children.

The couple were held over the weekend at the Trumbull County Jail in Warren, each on a $40,000 cash surety bond, posted Monday.

A court hearing date was not set Monday, and both entered innocent pleas.

Authorities found and seized more than $22,000 in cash and three large bags of marijuana from an underground bunker at the couple’s Irishtown-Southworth Road home.

Authorities also located $477 in cash, three firearms and a gun barrel inside the home.

The Trumbull Ashtabula Group law-enforcement task force got the warrant Friday after a one-week investigation into the cultivation and distribution of marijuana.

Complaints indicated youths were receiving the drug in northern Trumbull County communities.

According to a news release from TAG, authorities discovered the area in the couple’s barn, where the suspected growing/drying operation had been cleaned and believed the couple had been tipped off to the investigation.

But further searching with the aid of a police dog revealed an entrance to an underground bunker inside a chicken coop.

The 12-foot-by-12-foot bunker had been designed for the cultivation of marijuana and had water and power lines, the release said.

Though no potted or hydrophonic plants were found, investigators did find three large bags with marijuana plants; multiple marijuana buds on a screening system; a clear, plastic bag with processed marijuana; and marijuana seeds and residue on the floor.

TAG also discovered inside the bunker growing equipment including lighting systems, ballasts and bulbs along with fertilizer, pots and other items used in marijuana cultivation.